Teamwork, Friendship, and Love: Book 1, East Blue
by Cyberweasel89
Summary: Three friends unlock a mysterious new character for the One Piece video game and are transported to the One Piece world, each with a Devil Fruit power. AU OC Pairings inside.
1. Prologue: Available in All Game Modes

Title

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Eiichiro Oda-sensei does. However, I do own Lona, Lev, Maralah, and the Miracle Maker. These characters may not be used without permission.

Rated PG13 (or T) for nudity, swearing, and violence.

Summary

Three friends unlock a mysterious new character for the One Piece video game and are transported to the One Piece world, each with a Devil Fruit power. AU OC Pairings inside.

Pairings:

LuffyxNami

ZoroxTashigi

UsoppxKaya

RobinxChopper

OCxOC

Note

The One Piece series is split into sagas, which are then divided into arcs. Following this ideal system, this fanfiction shall be split into "Books". Each Book shall cover a single saga, and each chapter shall cover a single arc. However, some arcs are significantly longer than others. These arcs may require further splitting into "Parts".

One Piece

Teamwork, Friendship, and Love

Book 1

East Blue

Prologue

Available in All Game Modes

"Dangit! You always win at this game!"

Three friends, two girls, one boy, sat on a bed, a TV sitting on the dresser across from the bed. The TV appeared to have a game of One Piece: Grand Battle on it. One of the girls and the boy were playing it. Tony Tony Chopper had just beaten Roronoa Zoro with his Secret Move. From the look on his face, the boy must've lost to the girl.

The girl who had just won was now standing triumphantly in front of the bed. She looked to be 17 years old and stood at 5'7". She had a slender, yet athletic build, with moderate curves. She seemed in good shape, like she acquired a lot of activity. Her slightly shaggy hair was a pretty shade of light pink, obviously dyed, with bangs that were so short they were barely existent. Sprouting out of the back of the red baseball cap she was wearing was a sloppy ponytail that came down to her neck. Overall, her hair resembled a patch of pink grass that had been sat upon. Her eyes were a crimson shade of red. As for what she was wearing, most people would consider it inappropriate. She was wearing a pair of light blue short-shorts, as well as a pair of black sandals. All she had on to cover her upper half was a green two-piece swimsuit top, as her friend had invited her over to swim, as it was summer. Around her neck was a red ribbon choker with a round bell on it. On her right wrist were two wristwatches. Though it may seem odd to wear two watches, one kept time, while the other was actually a stopwatch.

The boy who had just lost seemed to have a lot of things to carry around, as the pockets of the dark blue cargo shorts he was wearing seemed stuffed to the brim. He looked to be about 16 years old, and stood at 5'3", with a build that some people might consider slender. His eyes were a pleasant shade of light green and his long hair was a dark brown color, reaching halfway down his back. His bangs stuck forward and came down almost to cover his eyes, with stray locks on either side of his head coming down to frame his face. Compared to his pink-haired friend, the boy's hair was at least slightly more maintained than her's. While her's was unkempt, his seemed strategically brushed to _look_ as if it were unkempt.

On his upper half, he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt that was left open to reveal that beneath was a pink shirt that read "It takes a real man to wear pink" across the chest in black lettering. The Hawaiian shirt was mostly blue, with red and yellow flowers depicted on it with a few palm trees. On his feet he was wearing ordinary red and white sneakers that looked well worn. He appeared to be wearing rainbow-colored socks beneath his shoes, and the rainbow socks actually had individual toes, though you couldn't tell just by looking. Tied around his head was a white bandana. It was knotted at the back and the leftover cloth hung from the knot to about where his hair ended. Around his neck, strangely enough, was a heart-shaped gold locket.

The other girl was sitting behind her two friends on the bed, drinking a box of apple juice. She looked to be about 15 and stood at 5'0" with a slender build. She had straight, black hair that went down to her neck. The hair was very neat and well kept, without a single loose strand sticking out. Two locks came down in front of her ears on either side of her head to frame her face. It was unknown what her eye color was, as her eyes were completely hidden behind big, thick glasses. She had some freckles on each cheek, but no more than a few.

She wore a yellow sundress that went down to her knees, and a blue ribbon in her hair. What seemed to stand out was that she was wearing black steel-toed boots on her feet.

"That's because Chopper rules!" the girl in the dress stated, pausing from the sipping of her apple juice.

"You can't beat me, Lev. We've been playing for six hours straight, and you've only beaten me once." The pink haired girl proclaimed, looking rather proud of herself.

"Okay, that's it! We settle this outside the game!"

The boy jumped up from the bed, bringing his fists up as if silently challenging his friend to a dual of fisticuffs.

"You know you can't beat me, Lev." the pink haired girl stated as if it were obvious.

"Um, guys." the girl in the dress interjected, trying to get their attention.

"We'll see about that, Lona." Lev said, smirking, bending his knees slightly as if ready to launch forward.

"Um, guys." the girl in the dress interjected slightly louder, again trying to get their attention.

"You've never been able to beat me, Lev-chan." the pink haired girl, Lona, said, smirking as well.

"Um, guys!" the girl in the dress practically screamed.

Lona and Lev both turned to her.

"What, Maralah?" they both asked angrily in unison.

"Look." The girl in the dress, Maralah, pointed at the TV.

The two friends whirled around to look.

On it was the screen that was shown whenever a new character was unlocked. But what was strange was that they already unlocked all the characters. Even stranger, none of them recognized this character from the One Piece series. On the screen was a picture of a person in a purple hooded cloak, their face hidden in shadows. The message on the screen read "The Miracle Maker is now available in all game modes."

"The Miracle Maker? Lona, is that a character from One Piece?" Lev asked his friend. He knew she knew more about the series than either of them.

"I don't know. I've never heard of this character. Let's try 'em out." Lona exclaimed in an excited manner.

They went to the multiplayer battle option and selected the Miracle Maker against Mihawk. The odd thing was that the Miracle Maker didn't have any alternate costumes or any support characters. Upon hearing the Miracle Maker's voice, it was realized that she was female.

As the battle commenced, Lona, who was controlling the Miracle Maker, took a look at her list of attacks. Most of the attacks seemed to have to do with dreams and miracles, and a few seemed to be named after different types of hugs, though when these hug moves were tried out, they were anything but hugs. Most of the Miracle Maker's moves seemed to be bare-handed martial arts of many different styles, including judo, tai chi, karate, and even drunken fist.

"Hey, what's her Secret Move?" Lev asked, turning away from the screen to look at his friend.

"I dunno, lets see." Lona responded.

She accessed the move list and saw that the Secret Move was just simply called "??".

"What kind of Secret Move is four question marks?" The pink-haired girl wondered aloud.

"Try using it." Maralah suggested.

Lona pressed the correct sequence of buttons, but nothing seemed to happen.

"Did you press in the right buttons?" Lev asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"Of course I did!" the girl exclaimed, annoyed that her friend would seemingly doubt her in any way.

"Look! Something's happening!" Maralah pointed at the screen from behind her two friends.

"Miracle Maker Secret Move!"

The cloaked woman shouted from the screen, though it sounded like she was in the very room with them.

A bright light shone from the screen. It engulfed the three friends, who closed their eyes to protect their retinas from the sheer brightness of it.

When Lona opened her eyes, she seemed to be in a white void. The white void lifted away like curtains being drawn, and she found herself falling from up above an ocean. She let loose a blood-churning scream as she fell, landing in the water. For the moment, she thought she was safe, but soon realized that she was having trouble staying afloat. Her arms and legs just didn't seem to be working properly, and it was as if everything she knew about swimming had flown out of her head like a bird escaping from its cage. She tried to call out for help, but only could sputtere as she struggled to stay afloat.

"_This is it... I'm gonna die just like that..."_

However, just as she was about to sink beneath the waves, a hand grabbed her arm. She was forcefully pulled out of the water and onto a wooden floor. The newly rescued girl spat out some seawater, her body heaving as she began coughing out the remainder onto her savior's boat.

"You okay?" asked a young voice.

"Yeah... I'm fine... Thanks for saving m-"

Lona trailed off as she looked up at her rescuer. That black hair... scar beneath the eye... red vest... blue shorts... sandals... distinctive smell of meat... straw hat... no... it couldn't be... could it?...

"Um... Who're you?" The girl asked, staring up at her rescuer from her crawling position on the floor of his boat.

"I'm Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy." The boy stated with great spirit, a goofy grin displayed proudly on his face.

"What? No! Nonono... This can't be happening..."

Lona put her hands to her head and felt something soft.

"Oh, hey! You have kitty ears! And a kitty tail, too!" Luffy said excitedly, pointing out the girl's appendages with his outstretched index finger.

"Wha?"

Lona looked behind her. Sure enough, dripping wet with seawater, was a pink-furred cat tail.

"GAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"

Luffy joined in the screaming, too, though his screaming seemed more for the fun of it.

End Prologue


	2. Chapter 1: Alvida

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Eiichiro Oda-sama does. However, I do own Lona, Lev, Maralah, and the Miracle Maker. These characters may not be used without permission.

One Piece

Teamwork, Friendship, and Love

Book 1: East Blue

By Cyberweasel89

Chapter 1: Alvida

"Okay, so lemme get this straight... You were heading out to sea when your boat sank in the middle of the ocean?"

Luffy had his arms crossed and looked deep in thought.

Lona put her hand behind her head.

"Yeah, that's about it. Mind if I hang with you for awhile?" she asked nervously.

Luffy let out a sigh.

"Fine. But only until we get to land and I find some food. Now, what's up with your kitty ears and tail?" Luffy asked curiously.

"Well..." Lona began, putting her arm behind her head again. She wasn't sure how to explain it... Luckily, she wouldn't have to.

"Uh oh."

"What?"

Lona turned her head to see what Luffy was looking at. The girl's eye went wide as she eyed the swirling maelstrom of water they had drifted into!

"WAH!!" she screamed.

"What a huge whirlpool. How careless of me." Luffy commented.

"Careless?! That's a whirlpool! This is awesome!!" Lona screamed in glee.

"Hmm... There's no one around... Besides you. It'll be really bad if this boat wrecks. And on top of that, I can't swim." Luffy said, his hand on his chin.

Lona's excitement was curbed upon that reminder.

"I used to know how to swim, but all of a sudden, I can't swim for some reason." Lona recalled.

Luffy smacked his fist on his palm.

"Ah! Wait a minute! It doesn't really matter if we know how to swim in a situation like this."

Luffy began lifting the lid off of the single barrel in his boat.

"What're you doing, Luffy?" Lona asked curiously.

"We'll just get into this barrel!" Luffy said cheerfully.

"Are you crazy? There's no way we'll both fit in there!" Lona yelled angrily.

"That doesn't mean we can't try!" Luffy assured. He hopped into the barrel.

"Yeah... I guess we have to try." Lona mumbled, staring at the floor of the boat.

She stepped over to the barrel. They were nearing the eye of the whirlpool. Realizing not much time was left, she climbed in and brought the lid down.

...

"Hey you coward! Are you hiding and doing nothing again?"

Lona awoke in a dark place. She assumed it must have been the barrel that she and Luffy survived in.

"Not at all! I was pushing this wine barrel..."

She could feel Luffy next to her in the barrel...

"Heh eh eh eh! We'll help lighten your load."

The barrel seemed to have been rolling a moment ago, but wasn't anymore...

"We're thirsty."

Thirsty?

"No way! If Alvida-sama finds out, you'll be killed."

Alvida? That name sounded familiar...

"It'll be find if you keep your mouth shut."

Are they afraid of this Alvida lady, or something?

"Right, Coby?"

Coby? That sounded familiar, too...

"Yeah, that's true..."

Lona could feel the barrel being turned upright.

"It's pretty heavy."

How is it that she and Luffy were both able to fit into this barrel?

"Can't wait!"

She felt Luffy move.

"Don't be so greedy. I'm going to smash it open right now."

Wait, what? Smash it open?

Lona felt herself thrust upwards, smashing through something solid. As she and Luffy left the barrel, light flooded her eyes. When her eyes adjusted, she found that everything looked... bigger? Luffy's arms were outstretched to either side of him, fists clenched. In fact, he had just punched some guy in the chin when he busted through the lid of the barrel.

"WHAT A GREAT NAAAAP!!"

Luffy's scream hurt her ears. Luffy was loud, but he shouldn't have been that loud. Were her new cat ears extra sensitive?

Looking down, she found herself sitting atop Luffy's head, perched atop his straw hat. But instead of her hands, she saw pink-furred cat paws. Looking behind her, she saw a cat's rear and little cat tail.

Oh god! She was a cat!

As the guy Luffy inadvertently punched hit the floor, Luffy turned to look at him, saying "What the?" in confusion.

Turning, Lona found Luffy looking at two other pirate-esque guys, both seemingly stunned in shock.

"Who are you guys?" the straw hat pirate innocently asked.

Both jumped in close and screamed "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

Luffy merely turned and brought his leg out of the barrel, plainly saying "He'll catch a cold if he sleeps here." about the guy he inadvertently struck upon exiting the barrel.

"It's your fault!" one of the pirates cried out frantically.

Lona jumped as a sword was held out in front of her chariot's face.

"You bastard. Stop screwing around. Don't you know we're pirates?!" one of the men spouted through clenched teeth. He was plainly sweating, too.

"I'm really hungry, got any..."

Luffy's question to Coby was interrupted as Lona found herself shouting "PIRATES?! AWESOME!!"

She brought her paws in front of her mouth, surprised she had said that, and so loud, too.

Luffy reached up and picked up the large pink-furred cat, holding her out in front of his face.

"Hey, this cat looks an awful lot like that girl who from the whirlpool..." he mused.

"That's 'cause I am, dummy!" the cat exclaimed.

Luffy quirked an eyebrow before screaming "Wow! You turned into a cat! Cooool!!"

Lona's ears rung from his loud scream, but didn't have much time to recover from it before Luffy began tossing her up and down in the air.

"Hey, stop it, buddy!" she demanded.

"Hey, you!"

Luffy caught Lona and diverted his gaze to the two remaining men who claimed to be pirates.

"Why is that cat talking?" One questioned.

"Could it be some sort of trick? Like ventriloquism?"

"Please. How could this twerp know ven-whatcha call it?"

"Forget it. Hey kid, who the hell are-"

They turned to see Luffy again asking Coby for food, the pink-furred cat seeming to be asking the same thing while being held in his arms.

"Listen to what I'm saying!" yelled one of the two pirates in rage.

"You brat!" yelled the other one, raising his sword above his head. The other one followed suit.

Coby's horrified look caused Luffy to turn around, wondering what he was looking at.

"DIE!" they both screamed as they brought their swords down.

Luffy dropped Lona onto the ground. As the pink-furred cat looked up at the swords, she felt something inside her... An urge... An urge to change.

Before she knew it, she was getting larger. Her skeletal frame was changing, all four of her legs were growing longer. Her four paws were developing into hands and feet, but kept their claws. The fur remained as well. In a matter of seconds she found herself human-sized again. Sharp claws popped out of her finger tips, begging to be used. Reading her hand in a talon-like position, she thrust it forward at the sword of one of the pirates, her strawhat-wearing ally's fist colliding with the sword of the other pirate.

The next thing Lona knew, both pirates were collapsed on the ground, weeping in fear. The sword Luffy hit was broken in half. The sword Lona struck had been shattered on impact, but everything above where she struck remained intact, but broke off. The remaining tips of both swords imbedded themselves in the ceiling, while the left over shattered pieces of the sword Lona broke fell to the ground.

"What are you doing all of a sudden?" both the strawhat pirate and the cat-like girl asked. Luffy asked innocently, Lona said it more threateningly.

"W... Who are you two?!" asked one of the two pirates in shock.

"Me?" both teenagers asked.

Luffy crossed his arms and declared "I'm Monkey D. Luffy. Nice to meet you!" with a smile on his face.

Lona pointed a clawed finger at herself and declared "And I'm Lona D. Koshka! Hiya!" with a broad grin, enlarged canine teeth evident.

Luffy produced a broad grin. Lona's grin got broader.

Both pirates ran screaming from the room, dragging their knocked out comrade with them.

"What... what just happened?"

Lona whirled around to see the pink-haired guy on the ground on his hands and knees.

"What's with them?" Luffy wondered, ignoring Coby.

Coby seemed to be started awake, standing up and declaring Lona and Luffy to "Hurry and run!" in a hushed voice. "When they come back with their friends, you'll both be killed!"

"Even so, I'm hungry." Luffy declared, his face rising into a grin.

"How can you say that so calmly?!" Coby gasped.

Coby turned to look at Lona when her stomach growled loudly.

Luffy turned to her and asked "You, too?", to which Lona responded with a nervous laugh. She immediately clenched her fists and proclaimed "Let's go look for some food!"

"There's lots of pirates on deck!" Coby hurriedly warned.

Lona and Luffy ignored him and started walking forward. Coby latched onto Luffy's arm to try and hold him back, but ended up getting pulled along.

"Don't go that way!" the pink haired boy exclaimed. "Wait! You're going the wrong way!" he added as the strawhat boy and the catgirl approached a double door with diamond-shaped windows.

Lona and Luffy merely pushed through the door, both crying out in joy at what they found.

"Food! Food! Food! Alright!" they both exclaimed, jumping into what appeared to be the pantry of the ship.

As the strawhat boy and the catgirl rambled about food and whatnot, Coby looked through the door in worry.

"They might not find us here." he quietly assured himself, closing the door.

Coby turned around sullenly to find Luffy exclaiming about a box of apples he just opened. Lona, having opened a box of onions, grimaced and ran over to grab some of the apples Luffy found instead.

"I'm Coby. And you're Luffy-san and Lona-san, right?"

He started walked forward toward the two.

"That was amazing back there. How'd you two do that?"

"These are good!" was what Luffy and Lona responded with, referring to the apples. Both had mouths stuffed full of the fruit.

"Is this a pirate ship?" the strawhat boy asked.

Lona paused in her eating upon hearing that. Her arms trembled at the idea of being on a real live pirate ship!

"No, this ship isn't."

Lona's hopes were crushed upon that statement from Coby. She went back to stuffing apples in her mouth.

"This ship is being attacked by Alvida-sama right now."

Lona recognized that name from what she heard when she woke up in the barrel.

"Mmm...? Doesn't really matter." Luffy dismissed it.

But Lona was interested. Swallowing her mouthful of apples, she scooted over to Coby and asked "Who's Alvida?"

Coby hadn't seemed to have noticed her walk up to him, as he jumped in surprise.

"Uh... Hi!" the furry girl waved, smiling.

Coby slowly climbed down from the stack of boxes he had jumped to.

"Hey... How come you're covered in fur? You weren't when I picked you up in my boat." Luffy wondered.

Lona put a hand to her chin in thought. "Yeah... This is weird... I don't wanna freak people out... Wonder what's going on..."

Lona felt a sudden draft. She looked around to find Coby staring at her in shock and Luffy pausing in his eating to stare at her. Lona looked down to find all of her fur gone. She was human again, yes... But she was also naked.

"Huh... Interesting..." she mused.

She thought about being covered in fur again and felt her form shift to her furry cat person form from before.

"Cool! You can turn into a cat monster!" Luffy screamed in gleeful surprise. Coby was nursing a nosebleed from Lona's exhibition of her human form.

"Yeah, I guess I can. Wait here a sec, okay guys? I'm gonna go see if my clothes are in that barrel we came here in. Luffy, don't eat all the food while I'm gone."

Not waiting around for a response, the furry girl left out the double doors.

Lona made her way over to the barrel that she shared with Luffy. Sure enough, searching the barrel found her shorts, swimsuit top, sandals, baseball cap, and wristwatch. It seemed that the string she used to tie her hair into a ponytail and her red ribbon bell choker remained when she... Hey, yeah. She was a cat when she came out of the barrel. Just to test it out, she thought about being a cat, and her form rapidly shifted to that of a pink-furred tabby housecat. It seemed that her ponytail remained on the back of her head, even as a cat. Heh. A cat with a ponytail... Her red ribbon choker with the bell remained around her neck, too. Another test, and she thought about being human sized with fur and cat characteristics. Sure enough, her form shifted to a fur-covered human-cat hybrid.

Shifting to human form, Lona put her clothes back on and grinned, thinking "This is gonna be fun..."

Though a thought struck her as she walked back to the pantry. "Although... I can't imagine the advantages to being a tabby cat in battle. Even if I am larger than the usual tabby."

The catgirl stepped back into the food storage room to find Luffy asking Coby if he was a pirate as well. Coby's eyes widened slightly, going into shock for a moment before staring at the ground sadly. Luffy gave a look of confusion as he munched on an apple.

"That was... a fateful day."

Lona walked up and took a seat by the crate, grabbing an apple to eat as she listened to Coby.

"That day, I went aboard, intending to go fishing... But it turned out that boat was going to a pirate ship! For the past two years I've been working like a slave so they wouldn't kill me."

When Coby was done with his story, Luffy and Coby were sitting by the steps to a raised area of the floor. Luffy had finished eating, but Lona still had a lap full of apples she was munching on. Lona and Luffy both gave each other a look of what seemed to be understanding before they both bluntly exclaimed

"You're a freaking idiot!"

"How can you say that?" Coby sobbed.

"You can run away!" Luffy explained.

"That's impossible! Impossible, impossible!" Coby cried. "When I think about Alvida-sama finding out, my legs shake and I get really scared...

"Ooh, you're a coward!" Lona declared, grinning like an idiot.

"I don't like you." Luffy agreed.

Coby cried for a moment, but then revelation hit him.

"You're right... Completely right." he realized sadly.

"If I'm only brave enough to drift in the ocean in a barrel. There's something I want to do..."

Lona and Luffy looked at Coby curiously.

"Luffy-san, Lona-san, what were you two doing in the ocean in a barrel?"

Before Lona could answer, Luffy grinned like an idiot and energetically stated "I'm going to be the pirate king!" like it was obvious.

Coby's jaw dropped in shock.

"P... P... Pirate King?" he sputtered.

"Yeah." Luffy said simply.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"That means you're a pirate?"

"Right."

"Your crew?"

"Don't have any. Looking for one now."

Coby seemed frozen in place, his jaw hanging open. Luffy sported a look of confusion and leaned over to wave his hand in front of the pink-haired boy's face.

"SO COOL!!" a girl's scream came.

Luffy found himself pounced on by a certain catgirl.

"You're a pirate! That's awesome!" yelled Lona, latching onto the strawhat boy in a mighty hug.

Coby seemed to get over the shock and stood up, yelling "The Pirate King is someone who has everything in this world!" Lona and Luffy paused in this wrestling session to watch Coby in intrigue. "Wealth, fame, and power all united within one person! Meaning you are going after "One Piece"!"

"Ah." was all Luffy said.

""Ah" You say?! All the pirates in the world are going after that treasure!"

"I am too!" Luffy declared, still wrapped in a fierce hug by Lona.

Coby began shaking his head back and forth furiously.

"Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, absolutely impossible! It would be impossible to stand on top in this great pirate era! It can't be done! Impossible, impossible!"

Coby was silenced with a punch on the head from Luffy, who was now standing and separated from Lona.

"Why did you hit me?" the pink-haired boy whined.

"Just because." Luffy answered.

"It's fine. I'm used to it anyways." he responded sadly, then tried to laugh it off.

Luffy placed his hand atop his hat, bringing the brim over his eyes and saying "It's not if it's possible or not."

Coby looked up at Luffy with a questioning look.

"I do it because I want to." He continued.

Coby continued looking at Luffy with a questioning look.

Luffy removed his hat, looking into it as he said "I decided to become the Pirate King. I don't care if I die fighting for it."

Coby stared up at Luffy in wonderment.

Grinning, Luffy placed his hat back on his head and began walking off.

"Now that I'm full, maybe I should go get a boat."

"Wait for me, Luffy! I gotta get out of here, too!" called Lona, following right behind him, though she brought a few apples with her to munch on.

"You think they'll give me one if I ask?" Luffy asked Lona.

Lona gave a pensive look. "They might. If they're good people." she answered.

"Might as well try." Luffy responded.

Coby remained kneeling on the ground.

"I've never thought of that." he said thoughtfully. "Can I do that too? Not afraid to die."

Luffy stopped and turned around.

"What?" he asked.

"Maybe I can join the marines." Coby continued.

"Marines?" Lona questioned.

Coby stood up, his hands clenched into fists.

"That's right! It's my dream to catch bad guys!" Tears welled up in his eyes. "It's been my dream ever since childhood! Can I do it?!"

Luffy grinned. "How should I know?"

Coby grew furious. "No, I will do it!" he declared. "I'm going to get out of here and stop working as a slave for Alvida-sama!" He began walking forward toward Luffy. "No, I will catch Alvida!"

At that moment, the ceiling of the storage room collapsed, a deluge of wooden debris, shingles, and shrapnel falling down. Luckily Coby jumped out of the way. As dust veiled the room, a voice boomed.

"Making a friend like this... Who are you going to catch... Eh, Coby!"

Lona peered over by the wall and saw Coby cowering in fear of the person shrouded in the dust.

As the dust settled, it was revealed to be some enormous woman with a somewhat cowboy-like state of attire. She was holding a huge metal club with spikes on it.

Luffy leaned forward in curiosity. Five swords pierced through the wall behind him, two on one side of his head and three on the other, and he gave the swords a glance.

The woman with the metal club looked upward from Coby to see Luffy and Lona standing by the wall. The woman gave a smirk.

"You're not the pirate hunter Zoro." she said in confidence.

"Zoro?" Luffy questioned. Lona merely raised on eyebrow in confusion.

"Coby!" the large woman yelled, causing Coby to shrink back in fright.

"Who's the most beautiful woman in this ocean?" she demanded.  
Coby put his hand on the back of his head, trembling in fear.

"That is of course..."

Luffy pointed at the woman and bluntly asked. "Who's this fat lady?"

Lona added "And what's with her ugly cowboy theme and the huge club?"

The woman, Coby, and several of the pirates standing around the hole in the ceiling, all dropped their jaws in shock.

"Fat? Now he's done it..." one of the pirates above gasped in shock.

The fat lady trembled in anger, then simply opened her mouth wide and screamed "YOU BRATS!!" at the top of her lungs.

The fat lady raised her club above her head and brought it down on the two teenagers. Luffy jumped forward to avoid the club as it came crashing down, Lona jumped to the side. She was surprised by how nimble she felt.

Luffy landed in front of the cowering Coby, whispering "Let's go!" to the pink-haired boy.

Luffy grabbed Coby's hand and jumped up through the hole in the ceiling. Alvida looked up at them, then found a certain catgirl on top of her head, using her as a stepping stone to jump up through the hole to follow Luffy and Coby.

Luffy landed right in front of the hole with Coby in hand, grinning like an idiot. Lona landed right next to him a moment later.

One of the pirates on the deck of the ship bellowed and rushed at Luffy, who nimbly backstepped the swings of his sword. The strawhat boy pounded his head on the pirate's head, effectively knocking him out.

Another pirate approached Luffy from behind with his sword raised above his head, but Luffy whipped around and gave him a solid punch to the face, knocking that one out as well.

Several approached Lona as well. Concentrating, she shifted to her cat-human hybrid form and brandished her claws. As one of the pirates lunged at her with his sword, she sidestepped his swing, then gave him a claw swipe across the face, followed by a hard punch to the stomach, downing him.

Next four pirates approached Luffy at once from behind. He nimbly jumped forward, turning around to face them as he stood a few yards in front of them. Lona was soon by his side, with three pirates approaching her at once. Luffy grab his arm with his opposite arm's hand, and Lona bent her knees slightly, brandishing the claws of both her hands with the fingers bent forward into talon-like positions, fangs bared.

But then a pirate jumped down from above to attack the two. Luffy fluidly stepped back so the pirate landed in front of them.

Luffy grabbed the pirate's head.

"It's not fair to attack from behind!" he declared simply.

The strawhat captain lifted the pirate up by the head and tossed him at the four pirates ahead, knocking them down.

When the three pirates approaching Lona stepped forward, the catgirl rushed at them, planting her hands on the ground and digging into the deck with her claws. She slipped her feet out from her sandals and did a handstand, proceeding to swing her legs around and kicking all three pirates in a row several times, reminiscent of some sort of brakedancing move. Lona was surprised to find that her toes bared claws as well, and immediately put them to use to scratch the pirates while she kicked them.

Done with her assault, the girl hopped away and landed on her feet, watching with glee as the three pirates wobbled a little, then fell down to the ground.

Lona looked over to Luffy to find a whole crowd of pirates behind him. He ran forward, screaming "It's not fair to attack with more people!"

As the strawhat captain ran, he grabbed onto a mast, his arm stretching out like rubber as his body still ran forward.

The pirates stopped running when they got to the mast that Luffy had grabbed on to, staring at his hand with a puzzled expression, then looking forward at Luffy with shock.

Luffy kept running, but was running in place as his arm stopped stretching. The pirates now screamed in shock, Luffy turning his head to give them a grin.

"Just kidding." he declared.

Planting his feet on the ground, he turning on his heels to face the pirates, his arm still stretched out and holding onto the mast. The pirates screamed and ran the opposite way, only to be stopped by Lona, her claws bared and a ferocious look on her face.

"Gomu Gomu nooo..." Luffy began.

His feet went to work, running forward. Soon he didn't need to, as his arm rapidly snapped back to regular length, propelling him forward.

"Rocket!" he finished.

His body reached the mast, which he let go of and went flying, body slamming all of the pirates with great force.

Lona looked to see Coby staring in total awe and Alvida, having just come up from the hole in the deck, staring in shock.

Coby stepped forward.

"Luffy-san, Lona-san... What are you?"

Luffy smiled broadly.

"Me? I'm a rubber man."

He reached up and hooked his finger on the side of his mouth, stretching it out to prove his point.

"And I guess I'm a catgirl, or somethin'." Lona shrugged, grinning.

"Rubber man... Catgirl... That..." Coby stated in utter shock.

Coby must have felt a presence behind him, because he jumped and scurried behind Luffy and Lona, cowering in fear as Alvida loomed in front of the three.

"You ate the Devil's Fruit, right?" she growled.

Luffy let go of his lip, the lip snapping back to normal.

"Yeah. I ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi."

Lona shrugged. "I guess I must've eaten one, too. Some kind of cat fruit thingermabob. Maybe Neko Neko no Mi: Model Housecat, or somethin'."

"Is that so." Alvida plainly stated. "I've heard rumors about it, but I never thought it really existed."

She tilted her head to the side slightly, scowling.

"You also have some moves... Are you two bounty hunters?"

"I'm just here for the hell of it." Lona declared with a grin.

"I'm a pirate!" Luffy confidently stated.

"Pirate? Just you?" Alvida questioned.

"It's just me right now, but I'll find a crew eventually. Let's see... I think about thirteen people sounds right." The rubberman plainly stated.

Alvida merely cackled. "I see, so you are a pirate. That makes us enemies, doesn't it?"

Coby was standing up now, but was trembling in fear. "Lu... Luffy-san, Lo... Lona-san, run." He advised, his voice quiet.

"Why?" Luffy and Lona questioned cluelessly.

"You saw the power of that iron club, didn't you? This person is the number one stron-"

He paused. The pause lasted a while, Coby seeming to space out, lost in thought.

Alvida smirked. "The number one what?" she said, urging him to finish.

"Num... num... num..." Coby stuttered.

At that moment, Coby's eyes brightened. He had found that fire inside known as resolve.

"Number one stinking ugly old hag!" he shouted, his fists clenched in anger.

The Alvida pirates that remained dropped their jaws in shock.

Alvida clenched up in anger, shaking with rage. Luffy raised his head and laughed loudly and heartily, and Lona brought her hand to her mouth and snickered wildly.

"What did you say?" Alvida bellowed.

Lona now burst out laughing, falling to the floor and clutching her stomach.

Coby stepped forward, his fists clenched and a determined look in his eyes.

"I will join the marines! Join and fight pirates like you!" He yelled.

"Do you even know what you are saying?" growled Alvida.

"I know!" Coby quickly retorted. "I'll... I'll do what I want! Join the marines and... join the marines and... Capture you!" he declared, his eyes seemingly ablaze with passion.

"Little brat!" Alvida bellowed.

Coby brought his hands to his face and shrieked in fright as Alvida raised her club above her head.

Luffy stepped in front of Coby and Alvida, his arm stretched back and his open palm facing Coby.

"Well said!" Luffy declared.

Lona joined him. "Yeah. No regrets, you fought for your dream!"

As Alvida brought her club down, Lona stepped behind Luffy and reached above his head. She caught the weapon in her claws, the club still hitting Luffy square on top of the head.

Coby stared in shock and awe, clearly scared for Luffy and Lona's safety.

However, Luffy merely grinned.

"Doesn't hurt." He declared.

"What?" Alvida yelled in shock.

"Because I'm rubber." Luffy clarified.

"Yeah, but the force probably would have knocked you through the floor had I not caught the club and softened the blow a bit." Lona declared. Her claws firmly planted in the metal of the club, she gave the weapon a tug, though Alvida still held it firmly. Luffy brought his arm back and gave Alvida and soft uppercut, knocking her back a little. With that distraction, Lona gave the club a yank and dislodged the weapon from Alvida's grip. She quickly tossed it away, hitting one of the defeated pirates as he was trying to get up.

Luffy brought his arm back, stretching it behind him a great distance.

Lona hopped onto his head in a crouched position. Words popped into the catgirl's head. "Neko Neko nooo..." She brandished her claws, her fingers bent into talon positions.

"Rapid Jab!"

With that decree, she began rapidly and repeatedly jabbing Alvida with her claws, stabbing her repeatedly and all over her torso.

As Luffy stretched his arm out, he declared "Gomu Gomu noooooo..."

The arm stopped stretching, now extending far behind Luffy and out into the ocean.

"Pistol!"

The arm rapidly shot back, retracting to normal length. As the arm neared Luffy, Lona ceased her assault and jumped off Luffy's head and to the side, giving him room for the attack.

Luffy's arm snapped back to normal length, the momentum now sending it flying forward.

The fist connected with Alvida's midsection, the tremendous force of the blow propelling her back on Luffy's fist. When his arm stopped extending, Alvida went flying, landing in the water a good distance away, creating an enormous splash that went several stories high as she landed in the sea.

Coby's jaw hung low in utter shock as Luffy's arm snapped back to normal length, and Lona morphed to her human form, grinning broadly at their victory.

"Amazing..." Coby thought to himself. "Lona used her claws to tenderize Alvida's thick hide and soften her up for Luffy's blow!"

Lona turned to the Alvida pirates on the other ship. "Hey!" she yelled over to them.

They jumped in fright. "Yes!" they squeaked.

"Give Coby a boat." Luffy calmly ordered.

"Yeah, he's going to join the marines." Lona added.

"Let him go." Luffy finished.

The pirates shook in fright. "Yes, yes!" they shouted, their voices shrill.

Coby smiled, his eyes tearing up in happiness.

"Luffy-san... Lona-san..."

Coby's gratitude was brought to a grinding halt when cannonballs bombarded the ocean around the boat. Luffy and Coby were nearly thrown off balance, but Lona felt oddly stable. Must've been the whole cat balancing act ability, she assumed.

"That's the... Marines!" Coby gasped.

"Ooooo! Isn't that great? Why don't you go?" Luffy declared, leaning on the railing to view the marine ships.

Coby turned to Luffy in surprise.

"Luffy jumped over the railing, declaring "I'm a pirate, time to run!"

"How can I... They'd arrest me before I could join!" shrieked the pink-haired boy frantically.

Coby would soon find himself grabbed by Lona, who jumped over the railing after Luffy while carrying him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The three acquired a boat and dropped it into the ocean. They set the sail and headed off.

However, neither of the three noticed a person who had their eye on them.

An orange-haired girl had been watching everything that went on with Alvida, Luffy, and Lona, disguised as one of Alvida's pirates on the other ship. She stared in awe, shock, surprise, and wonder at the fight between the three people.

She remained in a state of shock when Luffy and his companions got a small boat and sailed off.

"My god..." she whispered, her arms hanging at her sides as she reveled in the awe of the spectacle. "Such strength... What is he? Who is he? And why..." she seemed to snap out of her shock, looking pensive for a moment. "Why do I feel oddly intrigued by this rubber boy..."

The boat was shook by another round of cannon fire, and the girl quickly gathered the loot she had stolen and got into a small boat, sailing off.

"Something tells me I'll be running into that boy again..." the girl mused to herself. "And for some reason... I'm looking forward to it..."

End Chapter 1

P.S.:

I am in need of a beta reader, as I am in no way satisfied with my work on this story, and this will be a huge project. The chapters will come out slower due to having to run them through my beta reader, but they will hopefully be of higher quality. I would prefer someone with a sense of humor, as the beta reader I had for my first story had no sense of humor at all and thus I did not get along well with him. Also, the beta reader must be okay with the fact that my gender must be kept anonymous, and thus is up for interpretation. Therefore, depending on what you deduce, I'm either a Cy-kun or a Cy-chan, and I will not tell you whether you are wrong or not when you guess. Hee hee! O

Note that I will continue this story even if I do not have a beta reader, so having one is not at all necessary for the continued life of this fanfiction.

Please inquire for the position at "Cyberweasel89 at yahoo dot com", but remove the spaces and replace the connecting words with the correct symbols. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.


	3. Chapter 2: Morgan 1

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Eiichiro Oda-sensei does. However, I do own Lona, Lev, Maralah, and the Miracle Maker. These characters may not be used without permission.

- - - - - - - - - -

One Piece

Teamwork, Friendship, and Love

Book 1: East Blue

By Cyberweasel89

Chapter 2: Morgan 1

- - - - - - - - - -

"We managed to get away somehow..." Coby muttered, astonished.

Luffy the energetic strawhat pirate made of rubber, Coby the former pirate who wants to be a marine, and Lona the catgirl from another world.

When we last left these three, they were escaping from the pirate Alvida's ship after her defeat. They are now en route to their next destination.

Luffy let out a loud laugh. "That was fun!" he declared.

"Yeah, I've never had such a blast before!" Agreed the pink-haired catgirl, who was zipping to and fro on the small boat, gazing out at any fish that breached the surface and any bird that flew on the horizon. She felt an odd urge to lunge at these birds and fish, likely a product of her new cat fursona.

"Um, Luffy-san."

Luffy paused to turn and look at Coby. Lona looked, too, even though the question was not directed at her.

"If One Piece is your goal, that means you are heading toward the Grand Line, right?"

Luffy nodded affirmatively.

"It's also called the graveyard of pirates." Coby cautioned.

"Yeah, that's why I need a strong crew." Luffy responded confidently.

The strawhat pirate paused, looking slightly startled as an idea must have struck him.

"Say, Lona! Where are you headed?" he asked the catgirl.

Lona blinked, looking upward in thought. Soon she punched her hand with her fist, saying "I don't know."

Coby facefaulted. "You don't know?" he exclaimed.

"I guess I don't really have anywhere to go." the catgirl shrugged.

Luffy looked excited. "Then you can be the first member of my crew!" he declared.

"Really?! I'm gonna be a pirate?! I'm gonna be the first member of your crew?!"

The catgirl squealed with a shriek that could shatter glass, pouncing on the rubber boy and locking him in a bear hug.

Luffy laughed as Lona tackled him, but paused in his merriment as a thought struck him.

"That pirate hunter... what kind of guy is he?" he asked Coby, Lona still maintaining a death grip on him.

"You mean Zoro?" Coby clarified. "I heard that he was captured by the Marines."

"What? He's weak, then!" Lona dismissed.

Coby ran over and leaned atop a barrel between him and the two Devil Fruit eaters.

"Not at all! He's a terrifying beast!" the pink-haired boy cried. But he seemed to calm and lower his voice as realization hit him. "Why are you asking me this?"

Luffy grinned. "If he was a strong guy, I thought I'd make him part of my crew."

Coby's jaw dropped in shock.

"You're going to do something reckless again!" he cried.

"He might be a good guy." Lona felt the need to add.

"He's been caught because he's a bad guy!" Coby cried. "It's impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible... Absolutely impos-"

His ranting was interrupted when Lona punched him on top of the head, having separated from Luffy.

"Why did you hit me?"

"Just because!"

Coby cried, but Lona was soon distracted by the flying seagulls. She felt the urge to jump up and try and catch one, despite the gulls being well out of her reach.

"Such nice weather!" Luffy declared, stretching his arms by the mast of the small boat.

"We'll reach an island with a Marine base if we stay on this course." Coby explained.

"Eh... Coby, you're amazing." Luffy complimented. "Are we really going to reach our destination?"

"Of course." Coby answered. "It's the most basic skill for people who sail."

Lona giggled at the antics of her two new friends. She leaned on the edge of the boat and dipped her hand into the sea, feeling the water flow between her fingers as the boat sailed along. This world was so amazing... Her own world was so boring, so ordinary. In this world, she had powers. In this world, she was strong. But... She was having trouble recalling details about the One Piece world. Outside of what a native to this world would know from common knowledge, Lona couldn't recall anything, like what happens later in the story. She couldn't even recall who the next villain that Luffy faced was. Could it be possible that this world was drawing her further into its center and altering her mind to fit into it? Or was it that some force was erasing memories of plot points so she wouldn't be able to warn Luffy of future events? She couldn't even remember who joined their crew next.

It also seemed like the more time she spent in this world, the more she forgot about her home world. She couldn't at all recall the faces of her little brother and two older brothers. She could just barely remember the face of her father. She could still perfectly recall Lev and Maralah, which led her to believe that they were also brought to this world. Did they have Devil Fruit powers as well? And if so, what powers could they have? Lev kept a lot of things in his cargo shorts, and he had a backpack, too. Lona had given him a picture of her family for safe keeping. He probably still had it. If... No, when she ran into Lev again, she could use the picture to remember the faces of her father and brothers. That would help her maintain her identity in this world that sought to assimilate her into it.

Lone was brought out of her thoughts when Luffy began laughing to himself, now sitting on the nose of the boat with his arms reaching upwards and outwards. Just as well. Thinking hard like that made her head hurt.

Coby adjusted his glasses. "This isn't the time to be laughing, Luffy-san." He turned to face the strawhat boy. "He's held there."

Luffy turned his head to watch Coby with interest.

"That famous pirate hunter... Roronoa Zoro! He's a scary person..."

Lona leaned in curiously.

"Rumor says he's like a bloodthirsty hound. He wanders around the sea and hunts down fugitives. He's a monster in the form of a man."

Silence. Luffy and Lona gave each other a look.

"Sounds fun!" the catgirl declared with a broad grin.

- - - - - - - - - -

The small boat soon came to a bustling port town on a large island. The large town was sprawled out near the coast, welcoming all who came. The three docked their boat at the harbor. Coby tied it to the pier, while Lona jumped out to take in all the smells of the port, mostly fishy smells.

Luffy jumped out of the boat as Coby was tying it, his arm reaching up high as he loudly declared "We're here! The town where the marines are!"

"Yep! Finally!" Lona added.

"You're great, Coby!" Luffy praised.

"Huh?"

"We've actually reached our destination!"

"Of course! That's the basics of navigation! If you wander around at sea every time, you'll never become a pirate. You should at least find a navigator to join you."

Long put her hands on Coby's head and leaned on him, grinning like an idiot. "Who cares! Let's go explore the town!" she declared.

The three strolled down through a market street, people scattered about buying, selling, bartering, and haggling. Forget the suburbs where she lived back home. Lona would take a place like this any day. This is where the action is! The catgirl zipped from stand to stand, viewing what was for sale and giving everything a good sniff. So many aromas to smell, so little time.

"Hey, Luffy-san. It's not a very good idea to make him part of your crew." Coby cautioned.

"I haven't decided if he's a good person yet." Luffy plainly stated.

"He's been arrested because he's a bad guy!" Coby yelled.

Luffy stopped by a market stand and grabbed a juicy-looking green pear, taking a bite out of it. "Mmm, good!" he declared as he chewed. The stand owner looked on expectantly. Luffy turned and tossed him a coin as payment.

"I wonder if that Zoro guy is in the base up there." Lona wondered aloud, pointing to the large structure that dominated the skyline of the town.

Everyone let out a shriek, jumping away to clear space around the catgirl and her two companions. Lona and Luffy looked around curiously at the frightened townsfolk.

Coby leaned in to whisper to Luffy and Lona. "It seems that Zoro's name is taboo here."

The two shrugged and continued on, Coby following.

The three stopped by a restaurant for a quick meal, revealing that Luffy and Lona both had very similar eating habits.

"You two shouldn't just devour your food like that." Coby felt the need to say as he watched Luffy and Lona voraciously consuming everything on their plates.

Their meals done, Lona picked some meat out of her teeth and Luffy patted his belly.

"We'll go our separate ways here." Luffy decided.

"You do your best to be a great marine." Lona added.

"I will... Thank you so much!" Coby cried, wiping the tears out of his eyes with his arm. "Luffy-san, Lona-san, you two have to become great pirates, too. Although we'll be enemies in the future. But..."

The catgirl and rubber boy leaned in curiously.

"I'm a bit nervous... Do you two think you could at least accompany me to the Marine Base?"

Lona grinned. Luffy smiled and assuredly said "Yeah, sure. We can do that."

Coby smiled. "Thanks, Luffy-san, Lona-san. I think I heard that a Captain Morgan is in charge of that base."

Everyone around the three reacted the same way as when Lona mentioned Zoro. They all jumped away, letting out cries of alarm.

Lona blinked and sweatdropped. They carefully exited the restaurant, with Luffy laughing loudly and declaring "This is a very interesting town."

Coby ran up next to Luffy, holding out his hand palm-up. "That's strange. I can understand Zoro, but why would they be afraid of a captain?" he wondered aloud.

"Yeah, and it seems like that captain guy's name caused a more scared reaction than Zoro's name." Lona pointed out.

Coby hung his arms at his side and whined out a "This really worries me..."

"Maybe they just like to do that." Luffy suggested.

Lona grinned, adding "Yeah, I bet it's some sort of game! Whenever someone says that captain guy's name, they all have to act all scared!"

"I don't think so!" Coby scolded.

- - - - - - - - - -

The three soon came to the entrance to the base, a large metal gate in a wall with the word "Marine" on it with the Marines' symbol inlaid upon the door.

"Alright. This is it." Luffy declared, his hands on his hips as he faced the large gate.

Coby was so happy that tears welled up in his eyes. "I'm finally here!" he squeaked in joy. "This is where we part, Luffy-san." He added, bringing an arm up to his eyes to cover his tears. "Even though it's only been a short-"

"It looks pretty ugly up close." Lona pointed out.

Coby's jaw dropped.

"Go ahead, Coby." Luffy suggested.

Coby fidgeted with his hands nervously. "B... But I'm not peprared yet! Besides, that incident at the restaurant got me thinking."

He was interrupted to find Luffy and Lona not there. He saw them climbing the wall. Luffy was frantically clambering over it, while Lona merely shifted to hybrid form and effortlessly scaled the wall with her claws.

"Ah! Luffy-san! Lona-san! What are you doing?!" Coby cried, waving his arms frantically.

Luffy was now at the top of the wall, clinging to it as he brought his head over it to view what was beyond it. Lona merely sat upon the wall with her shapely legs dangling over the edge of it, viewing the inside. She took pity and grabbed Luffy by the collar, lifting him up and setting him next to her. She then switched to her human form, her ever-present tail dangling over the other side of the wall and swaying back and forth.

Luffy brought a hand to his eyes to view the inside of the Marine base. "Where is that demon?" he wondered aloud.

"He wouldn't be in a place like this." Coby pointed out, sweatdropping. "He's probably in an isolated cell deep inside."

"There he is!" Lona declared loudly, pointing into the Marine base yard.

Luffy stood up, running to another part of the wall for a better look. Lona soon followed, shifting to hybrid form and walking along the top of the wall like a cat on a tightrope.

"See, that guy." Luffy pointed out.

Sure enough, there was a man tied to a cross-shaped wooden post in the Marine base yard, wearing a tight white shirt and a dark green bandana over the top of his head.

"He can't be here..." Coby concluded doubtfully.

Lona hopped down to pick Coby up and hand him to Luffy, who set him on top of the wall. Lona then climbed back up it. Coby looked into the Marine base yard and gasped, his eyes widening in horror.

Luffy pointed, smiling and turning his head to view Coby.

"If we untie that rope, he can escape, right?" Luffy casually asked.

Coby grew angry, turning to yell at Luffy. "Don't say stupid things like that! What do you think'll happen if we let him go?! I'm sure he'll kill you, Luffy-san!"

Luffy merely turned back to view the yard, smiling and declaring "No problem. I'm strong."

"Hey. You guys."

Lona's cat ears perked as she heard the man down in the yard call to them. Coby shrieked, realizing that Zoro knew they were there.

"You're bothering me." was all the pirate hunter said. He raised his head slightly, one of his eyes emerging from the shadows of his bandana to view the trio. "Get lost."

Coby began waving his hands frantically and gasping, jumping over to hide behind Luffy and Lona. "Luffy-san, if you recruit a guy like him, it won't matter how many lives you have."

Coby was distracted from his cautioning as a ladder was propped up against the wall, and up climbed a little girl. She turned to the trio and brought her index finger to her mouth, shushing them. Then she looked back and forth cautiously, as if searching for anyone who might be watching.

From the top of the wall where she brought up the ladder, she lowered down a rope, which she climbed down and into the yard. Something was in her arms, but Lona couldn't tell what. Though she had smelled something sweet when the girl was up on the ladder. The girl hurried across the yard to where the pirate hunter was tied up.

"That's dangerous! Luffy-san, please stop her! She'll be killed!" the pink-haired boy gasped, waving his arms frantically, to which Luffy replied "Stop her yourself."

Lona's sensitive cat ears managed to pick up what the little girl and the pirate hunter were talking about. She was sure Luffy and Coby could hear it, too, but she probably heard it clearer than they did.

"What?"

"Aren't you hungry? I made you some onigiri."

"You're gonna be killed, shorty. Go away."

"You haven't eaten anything though."

She unwrapped what she was carrying, revealing round balls of white rice. She obviously had made them herself, and it must have been her first time, as they were round instead of triangular shaped, and did not have the seaweed strip holding them together. Sure, enough, she declared "Here! This is my first time... But I made it with all my heart." with a bright, cheerful smile on her face.

Zoro seemed taken aback for a moment, but just simply said "I'm not hungry!" then adding "You're annoying! Hurry up and go home."

"But..."

"I don't want any. Don't make me hurt you!"

Lona's ears picked up on the sound of a gate sliding open, and a voice called "You shouldn't be bullying kids."

A poorly dressed man walked in, dressed in a purple suit with a butt-chin and ugly blonde hairstyle that sat flat upon his head but was wide, stretching outwards from the sides of his head. The man held the overly large collar of his shirt between his thumb and index finger. Two marine soldiers followed close behind him.

"Looks like you're still energetic, Roronoa Zoro." He declared, his voice awfully condescending.

"And another weird guy appears." Luffy stated plainly, causing Lona to giggle.

"Thank goodness. He must be someone important in the marines. They're marines so I'm sure that girl will be fine now." Coby sighed in relief.

The man walked up to the girl and bent downward slightly, gazing down at the girl and her onigiri.

"Hey, that onigiri looks pretty good." the man declared.

He speedily snatched one and took a bite out of it, despite the girl's protests.

He chewed it for a few moments, but then his eyes grew wide and he spit it out with cries of "Nasty!"

He turned to the girl and brought his fist up in front of him. "It's full of sugar! Onigiri needs salt! Salt!"

"But I thought it would taste better sweet." the girl sadly stated.

"Take that!" the man declared, smacking the remaining onigiri off the girl's piece of cloth and knocking it to the ground, where he proceeded to stomp on it.

"Stop! Stop!" the girl cried, kneeling on the ground and stretching her arms out in front of her.

"What a horrible thing..." Coby muttered. Lona's fists clenched in anger, but luffy put his hand on her leg to steady her, shaking his head as if to tell her to just watch for now.

The girl kneeled over her smashed Onigiri, her voice quivering as tears welled up in her eyes. "I tried to make it with all my heart." she squeaked tearfully.

The man put his hand on his face, reaching into his suit to pull out a piece of paper. "You haven't read this poster yet?" he drawled. He proceeded to read it to her. "Anyone who helps this criminal will be executed. Marine Captain Morgan."

The girl stiffened, to which the man gave a small chuckle. "Brat, you know who my father is, right?"

"Father?" Luffy wondered aloud.

"Then he is Captain Morgan's son?" Coby added.

"That guy? If he's his father's son, than that Morgan must be a dirt bag!" Lona snarled.

The man raised his hand to one of the marines behind him. "Hey, toss this brat out."

The marine stiffened, opening his mouth in surprise. The poorly-dressed man turned around and grabbed the marine by the collar of his shirt.

"I'm telling you to toss her outside! Are you disobeying my orders? I'll tell my father!"

The marine quickly nodded. "Yes! Right away!"

The girl reeled back in fright as the marine crouched in front of her, though Lona's sensitive cat ears picked him up whispering "Little girl, I'm sorry for having to hurt you."

The next thing Lona knew, the girl went flying over the wall, screaming in fear. Luffy sprang into action, jumping from the wall and stretching his arms out to catch her, then trailing his body along as his arms returned to normal length. He hit the ground on his side, using his body to shield the girl from the impact, his hat floating down next to him.

As the two sat up, the little girl managed out a "Th-thank you" as she looked up at her savior. Lona helped Coby down, who ran over to check on Luffy, Lona close behind. "Are you okay, Luffy-san?!" Coby cried as he ran over. He kneeled in front of the girl, asking her if she were hurt anywhere.

Luffy stood up and slipped his hat onto his head. Coby again asked the girl if she was hurt.

"I think she's fine, Coby. Luffy caught her, after all, and his body is like a rubber cushion, remember?"

"You bastard."

Lona's sensitive cat ears picked up Zoro's words, and she rushed over to the wall, climbing onto the top of it to view the scene that played out in the yard.

The man slowly walked past Zoro, laughing gleefully to himself. "It seems like you're pretty stubborn, being alive still."

"Yeah. I will live through the entire month." Zoro assured him.

"Well, do your best." The man teased, walking back the other way and laughing gleefully again. The two marines followed him.

"Ten more days left." Zoro called from where he was tied up, not even turning his head to look at the retreating man.

"Only if you live that long." the man responded, giggling to himself.

Lona turned around to look down at Luffy, Coby, and the girl.

"How could he do such a horrible thing. Luffy-san!" she heard Coby gasp as he inspected the girl for injuries.

However, Luffy had already climbed back into the yard, and was now standing a few yards in front of Zoro. Lona hopped down from the wall to join him.

"So you're a bad guy?" the strawhat pirate asked.

"You're still here?"

"Being publicly humiliated... Are you really strong?"

"Mind your own business!"

Luffy walked forward, now standing closer to Zoro and putting his hand on top of his hat with a grin.

"I would have escaped within three days."

"I'm different from you. I will survive to show them. Definitely."

"Heh, what a stubborn guy."

Luffy turned around to walk away, but Zoro called out to stop him. "Wait a sec."

Zoro looked down at the ground. "Cat you get that?"

Lona looked down at the smashed onigiri at her sandaled feet. She crouched down and scooped it up in her hands. "Are you really going to eat this?" she asked.

"It's more of a dirt ball than a rice ball now." Luffy added, looking down at the smashed onigiri in Lona's hands.

"Shut up and give it to me!" Zoro shouted.

Lona blinked, staring at him blankly. The pirate hunter opened his mouth wide, and Lona simply shrugged and shoved the smashed onigiri into his mouth. Lona cringed as he chewed it, coughing a little when he swallowed.

"Told ya so." Luffy felt the need to say, his arms crossed as he gave a sideways glance at Zoro.

"Tell that little girl..." Lona leaned in curiously. "It was delicious." Zoro concluded. "Thanks for the food."

Luffy just smiled, and Lona couldn't help but smile, too.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Really?!"

"Yeah, he ate everything!"

Luffy, Coby, and Lona were back in town, meeting with the little girl who tried to give onigiri to Zoro.

Now that the situation at the marine base was over, Lona could get a good look at the girl. She was rather adorable, with chocolate brown hair arranged in tiny pigtails, and dressed in what appeared to be a cross between a hooded sweatshirt and a dress, patterned with blue and purple horizontal stripes.

Luffy was perched atop a barrel, while Coby was sitting on some nearby stone steps. Lona was sitting on the ground, leaning against a wooden crate. The girl was standing in front of them.

She clasped her hands together and cried "I'm so happy!"

"What's your name, kid?" Lona asked.

"I'm Rika." the girl replied.

"Is Zoro really an evil guy like they said?" Coby wondered aloud, sounding sad.

Rika turned to Coby and immediately shouted "No!" in protest. But then she turned to face forward and admitted "Well, he is in jail because of us."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Lona inquired.

"Everything is Helmeppo's fault." Rika began, her hands clasped to her chest and her eyes gazing down at the ground. She raised her gaze to look forward. "Captain Morgan's son... He... He came through town one day with a vicious wild dog, claiming that anyone in the way of his cute pet would be executed. The dog made its way into my family's restaurant and began eating off the plates of the customers, so I tried to shoo it away. But the dog attacked me, when Zoro threw a stool at it to protect me. Helmeppo started yelling at Zoro, but Zoro shrugged him off and continued eating. When Helmeppo attacked Zoro with a sword, Zoro just kicked the sword away and punched Helmeppo to the ground. When Zoro held his sword to Helmeppo's face, Helmeppo explained that if his father found out, my mother and I would be executed. So Helmeppo offered to make a deal with Zoro. He said that Zoro could go to jail instead of us, and that if he survived one month, he'd be let go as well. It's been three weeks. That Helmeppo punches and kicks Zoro while he'd tied there."

Rika buried her face in her hands. "I... I..." she gasped, and began sobbing.

"So that's what happened." Coby said forlornly.

A crash was heard, coming from Rika's mother's restaurant. Lona rushed to the door and peered inside to see that Helmeppo guy resting one of his legs on a table with a smug look on his face. Two marines stood behind him, completely silent and expressionless.

"I'm hungry! We're all going to eat for free." he declared, followed by an annoying laugh. "Hey, hurry up and bring some alcohol! What's taking so long? Hurry up!"

Lona soon found Luffy enter and stand next to her. And Lona couldn't help but notice a familiar-looking young lady with orange hair sitting at a table...

Rika's mother poured Helmeppo a glass of wine. The marine captain's son laughed and declared "Oh, that's right. Since I'm tired of waiting, I've decided to execute Zoro tomorrow. Look forward to it, everyone." then laughed that annoying laugh of his again.

Before Lona could stop him, Luffy dashed forward and gave Helmeppo a solid punch to the cheek. The force of the punch sent Helmeppo's head smacking onto the wall.

One of the marines kneeled down to check on the marine captain's son, who put a hand to his face and screamed "Wh... Who the hell are you?!" at Luffy.

Coby grabbed Luffy from behind, screaming "Luffy-san, stop it!"

"He's trash!" Luffy growled

"You... You hit me!" Helmeppo whined. "I'm Captain Morgan's son!"

"So what?!" Luffy growled.

"I'll tell my father and have you executed!" he screamed.

"Why don't you do something yourself?" Luffy barked.

"Luffy-san, calm down. You shouldn't make the marines your enemy." Coby warned, struggling to hold the enraged pirate back.

"I've decided, Coby. I will have Zoro join me!"

Lona couldn't just stand back and let Luffy do this alone. She loomed in front of Helmeppo, and shifted to hybrid form. Helmeppo screamed as she sprouted pink fur. The furry girl reached down and picked Helmeppo up by the collar. The marines merely stood by and watched in awe, though Lona wasn't sure if they were scared or if they themselves didn't like Helmeppo. As Helmeppo trembled in fear as he hung from Lona's grip, Lona merely smirked sadistically, sporting a toothy grin with sharp, enlarged canines. Her sensitive cat nose could already pick up the smell of Helmeppo relieving himself in his pants. This was gonna be fun...

- - - - - - - - - -

Marine Base...

"I am… Great!"

A large figure sat in an equally large armchair behind a desk, turned around to face the window.

"Yes! That is correct, Captain Morgan!" shouted a marine standing in the middle of the office, saluting hastily.

"But there hasn't been much tribute to me lately." Came the gruff voice of the large man.

The marine swallowed nervously. "Eh, the problem is that the income of our people has decreased." he nervously said, sweating and still maintaining a salute.

"The problem is not having enough respect for me..." The marine captain lowered the cigar from his mouth, his back still facing the marine. "Isn't that right?"

The sound of footsteps could be heard rapidly approaching the office, and the large double doors burst open to reveal Helmeppo. "Father!" he cried, one hand holding a pink handkerchief to his cheek and the other hand on his stomach where a strange cat creature punched him. "There's some guys I want you to kill!" Helmeppo growled, panting from the dash he made when he hightailed it away from the restaurant.

- - - - - - - - - -

Zoro found himself thinking back on a girl with short blue hair... The sound of shinai bamboo swords striking each other... Falling on his rear as he was knocked over... "You're weak as usual, Zoro", she said...

"I made a promise..." Zoro thought to himself during his recollections.

The sight of the blue-haired girl sitting on some stone steps, gazing down sadly with her hair covering her eyes.

"I can't die in a place like this!" Zoro thought to himself.

But the girl looked up and turned her head to face him, and sakura blossom petals fluttered by on the breeze.

The pirate hunter was awoken from his recollections when he felt a presence in front of him. He saw a shadow on the ground, and followed it to the same straw hat-wearing boy from earlier. Then he saw that pink-haired girl with the cat ears and a tail from earlier step out from behind him.

"You two again? You have too much free time." the pirate hunter scoffed.

"I'm going to untie the ropes, and you will become my comrade." Luffy said simply.

"What did you say?"

"I'm looking for people to join my pirate crew."

Luffy stepped forward, but Lona stayed put.

"I refuse!" Zoro barked. But then smirked as he said "You want me to be a bad guy?" he looked to the side and whispered "How annoying…" dismissively.

"What's wrong with being a pirate?" Lona asked.

"Pirates are scum. Who would want to be one?" Zoro remarked bitterly.

"Does it matter? You're known as an evil pirate hunter." Luffy pointed out.

"I don't care what society says. I've never regretted doing anything." He smiled sadistically. "I will survive... and do what I want to do!"

"Huh… Is that so?" Luffy asked, a dumb look on his face.

The straw hat pirate turned sideways and crossed his arms, gazing upwards and smiling. "But I've already decided that you will be my comrade."

"You can't decide that by yourself!" the pirate hunter screamed.

"Well then we've decided you will be our comrade!" Lona interjected, grinning. "Now it's two against one!"

Zoro was about to object when Lona asked "You use a sword, right?"

Whatever Zoro was about to say was forgotten at the mention of his swords. "Yeah... but that stupid son took them."

"I'll get it for you."

Lona popped up and shoved Luffy aside, knocking him to the ground. "We'll get it for you." she declared with a large grin.

"What?" Zoro asked, shocked.

Luffy popped up from the ground. "So when I return your sword, you will become my comrade."

"You really are dense!" Zoro screamed.

But Luffy and Lona just ignored him, dashing off, the straw hat pirate laughing gleefully.

"Are they going to attack the base with just the two of them?" Zoro whispered softly to himself.

But then Zoro noticed something. He quickly yelled "You idiots, the base is the other way! Not over there!"

Luffy and Lona stopped in their tracks.

"Gomu Gomu noooo... Rocket!"

Zoro stared in awe as the straw hat boy's arms stretched past him, and was soon followed by the owner of the arms. A large pink housecat with a ribbon bell collar, bandages around the end of the tail and... a ponytail?... rid on the boy's back. He looked back the other way to see what looked like the girl's clothes on the ground. "Those two... What the hell are they?" the pirate hunter gasped in shock.

- - - - - - - - - -

At the top of the marine base tower, Captain Morgan was overseeing his men raising up a large statue of himself.

"Okay, hold it there." he ordered. "Make it stand with one pull."

"Father! Why aren't you helping me get revenge?" Helmeppo whined, standing next to his father. "They punched me! One of them punched the face that even my father hasn't punched!"

"The reason I have never punched you in the face... Do you know why?"

Helmeppo smiled uneasily. "Eh? Well that is because I'm your-"

"That's right." Captain Morgan interrupted. He turned slightly, giving his son the evil eye. "You are..."

The marine captain spun around and gave his son a heavy slug to the face, sending Helmeppo flying into the stone railing. The nearby marines gasped at the sight.

Captain Morgan stepped forward. "Not worth hitting! My worthless son." he finished.

He was a very imposing man. He stood tall and he stood wide. Bronzed skin with extremely short blonde hair cut close to his scalp, and a metal jaw with an odd crest upon it with the letters "M-O-W-E". He wore blue pants and a light blue jacket with the shoulder decorations one would find on an admiral's uniform. His light blue jacket had a very high collar, with the inside lining being red. His right hand had been replaced with a very large axe. The pole of the axe stuck out his elbow, stretching his skin there in a rather horrific way.

"Why do I have to clean up your mess? You can do a lot of things in my name... but I only punish those who oppose me!"

The marine captain stepped forward, looming over his cowering son.

"Don't misunderstand..." The marine captain hooked the end of his axe in Helmeppo's jacket and lifted him up to bring him to his face. "the one who is your great father..." he gestured to himself with his thumb. "In other words, me!"

Helmeppo nodded quickly, crying in fear. Captain Morgan promptly dropped him on his rear and turned around to face the other way.

"It seems there was an intruder in the execution field." the captain mused aloud.

Helmeppo squeaked in fear before whimpering out a "That runt? I took care of her."

"You killed her, right?"

A yelp of fear. "No, she is just a kid..."

The marine captain pointed to a nearby marine with a short beard. "Hey you, go to the town and finish the job."

"But... she is just a little girl, even if it's your order, Captain." the marine objected.

Morgan turned and began slowing stomping toward the marine. "It doesn't matter if it's a kid... Anyone who disobeys my order is a traitor."

"But... I can't!" the marine further objected.

Captain Morgan hummed in intrigue. He raised his axe arm and proceeded to chop at the marine, slashing him in his side and leaving a shallow cut. The marine fell to the ground, Helmeppo screaming in fight with his hands on his head. Two marines rushed to his side, calling "Stewie!"

"You didn't have to go that far!" Helmeppo whimpered in fright.

The marine captain looked down at him with an intense, violent look in his eyes. "I became a captain because of this arm!" He raised his arm to show it. "Listen! A title is everything in this world! I'm the best captain at this base! That means I'm the greatest man here! That's why everything I do is right! Isn't that correct?!"

The marines stood by in fear at their captain's speech, but they all quickly saluted in unison and shouted "Yes! That is correct!"

"I'll take care of the kid later." Captain Morgan decided. He turned to look at his statue. "Look, it took many months and it's finally done. This is the symbol of my power! Now, put it up!"

All the marines began pulling on the ropes to raise the massive statue.

"Raise it on the highest point here to show my greatness!" he ordered.

- - - - - - - - - -

Luffy and Lona stopped to stand in the middle of the marine base yard, Lona in her hybrid form. Luffy put one of his hands on his head and said "That's weird. There's nobody here."

"Maybe they're all out to lunch." Lona suggested.

Luffy put his fist in his palm. "Oh, yeah. It must be lunchtime. That's probably why I'm hungry." But he put his hand on his head again and looked up at the tower. "But I gotta find that stupid son and get Zoro's sword back.

- - - - - - - - - -

Marine Captain Morgan stood silently, watching the raising of his massive statue.

"Pull! Pull!" The marines chanted as they heaved at the ropes.

One of the statue's hands banged against a dome-shaped spire of the marine base. It was undamaged, but Captain Morgan still loomed over the marine responsible, who went wide-eyed in fear.

"Hey you!" Captain Morgan shouted. The marine shrieked in response. "You bumped it." Morgan pointed out.

- - - - - - - - - -

Lona's ears picked up the sound of metal resounding from something hard hitting it. She tapped Luffy on the shoulder and pointed to the high tower, where the sound originated from.

"There's some noise coming from up there." she pointed out.

- - - - - - - - - -

"I'm very sorry! I was careless!" yelled the marine in fright.

Morgan held his axe hand in front of him threateningly. "I said this statue represents myself. If you scratch it a little, that's treason against me!"

- - - - - - - - - -

"Let's have a look." Luffy decided.

Lona grinned. "Assume take off position, then?"

The furry catgirl hopped onto Luffy's back and shifted to her cat form. Luffy stretched his arm upward, shouting "Gomu Gomu noooo..."

His arm reached the top of the tower, where his hand grabbed the ledge.

"Rocket!" he finished.

- - - - - - - - - -

Morgan raised his arm high above his head. "Die!" he growled, bringing the axe down on the marine.

Luffy shot up above the tower.

"Whoa, I'm flying!" he yelled in alarm.

"Idiot!" Lona yelled.

"What the hell is that?!" shouted a marine in alarm.

"Somebody flew up there!" shouted another one.

Luffy managed to grab onto one of the ropes of the statue.

"We stopped!" Lona cheered.

But the statue came crashing down, hitting the edge of the tower with the statue's upper half hanging off the edge. Luffy landed safely next to the marines with the ropes, Lona on his back. The marines holding the ropes tried to keep it from falling, pulling with all their might. But with the upper half of the statue hanging off the edge, it broke off. Captain Morgan, Helmeppo, and all the marines cried out in alarm as the upper half of the statue plummeted down to the ground, breaking into pieces.

Captain Morgan, Helmeppo, and all the marines turned to look at Luffy and Lona with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Luffy raised his hand and Lona raised her paw and both said "Sorry."

"Capture that guy!" the marine captain bellowed. "I will kill him!"

"Yes! Right away!" the marines yelled, saluting.

Helmeppo pointed at Luffy. "Father! This is one of the guys who punched me! I told you he was no good!"

Luffy popped up in front of Helmeppo, saying "Hey, it's you!"

Helmeppo stared blankly, but then raised his arms and screamed. Before he could run away, though, Luffy grabbed him, saying "I was looking for you! Come with me! I need something to be returned!"

The straw hat pirate took the marine captain's son and dashed into a nearby doorway, Lona still clinging to his back in her cat form.

"Helmeppo-sama!" all the marines called after him in alarm.

Captain Morgan pointed forward with his axe arm. "After them! Don't let him escape!"

"Captain! There's someone in the execution field!" called one of the marines.

"What?" Morgan growled, turning to look down on the field.

It seemed a boy was running up to where Zoro was tied up.

"More traitors just keep appearing." the marine captain murmured.

- - - - - - - - - -

Luffy dashed down the halls of the marine base, Helmeppo being dragged along as Luffy grasped the collar of his shirt. Lona was still clinging to his back in her cat form.

"Where is Zoro's sword?" Luffy asked him hurriedly.

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you, so stop dragging me on the floor!" cried Helmeppo.

Luffy skidded to a stop, Helmeppo falling limp. The marine captain's son shakily raised his hand to point down the hall behind Luffy. "It's in my room. We just passed it." He whimpered.

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Luffy innocently asked. "We have to go back, right?"

"Don't move! Release Helmeppo-sama!"

Luffy turned to see three marines pointing rifles at Luffy. Lona peeked over the straw hat pirate's shoulder to see, too.

"No." was all Luffy said, and held Helmeppo out in front of him, declaring "Shoot if you want to."

Helmeppo began flailing his arms and legs about wildly. "Ah! Stop!!" he screamed.

Luffy charged forward, using Helmeppo to plow through the three marines.

- - - - - - - - - -

Coby worked at untying Zoro's ropes. "Escape, Zoro-san." He instructed.

"If you do that, you'll be killed!" Zoro warned.

"I can't stand by and watch these Marines anymore." Coby said quietly. "I'm going to become a real Marine! Just like Luffy-san is determined to become the Pirate King."

"Stop!" Zoro yelled at him. "I can't run away! Ten more days left!"

"You will be executed tomorrow."

Zoro's eyes went wide. "What?"

"Helmeppo never intended to keep his promise. That's why Luffy-san and Lona-san got mad and punched Helmeppo."

Zoro turned his head to face forward, uttering "Them..."

"Luffy-san is being chased by the marines right now." Coby continued. "I'm not telling you to become a pirate, but please... Please help Luffy-san."

Zoro looked away from Coby to gaze forward, a serious look in his eyes.

"Luffy-san is the only one who can save Zoro-san. And now... I believe you are the only one who can save Luffy-san."

Zoro continued to stare forward, not saying anything.

But then a gunshot was heard, and Coby fell backwards with his glasses flying off, blood spurting out his shoulder.

As Coby landed on the ground, he clutched his shoulder and screamed. "AAAAAAHHH!! I've been shot! Bleeding!! I'm bleeding!"

"Hold it right there!" came a voice.

Several marines appeared, pointing rifles at Coby and Zoro. Captain Morgan walked up behind them.

"By the treason you have committed against me..." Morgan began, walking forward with his axe arm resting on his shoulder. "You will both be executed right here."

Coby wailed, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping open. Zoro merely gazed at Morgan and the marines with an expression of mild alarm.

- - - - - - - - - -

"This room, right?" Luffy asked upon coming to a door decorated with a pink flowery wreath and a sign saying "My Room". Luffy opened the door and entered, dragging Helmeppo with him. Lona remained on his back, still in her cat form.

Lona peered around the mostly white room, and spotted three swords sitting against the wall near the window.

"There!" Lona declaring, thrusting her paw at the swords as if to point at them.

Luffy walked up to the swords and pointed at them. "There are three swords, though." He murmured. He looked to Helmeppo in his arm. "Hey, which one is Zoro's sword." But Helmeppo was out cold. "What... He passed out?"

Lona had hopped over to the window sill in her cat form, where she gazed out at the execution field, only to see Morgan there with marines pointing their rifles at Coby and Zoro!

"Luffy! Coby's in trouble!" Lona yelled in alarm.

- - - - - - - - - -

Coby whimpered as the marines readied their rifles.

"You guys did some interesting things. Do you and the guy with the straw hat intend to start a revolution?" Morgan asked.

"I've always fought my battles alone, unlike you... hiding behind your troops and creating chaos." Zoro spat.

"Roronoa Zoro, don't underestimate me." Morgan replied. "Your skill, when compared to my strength, is nothing!" he warned. Next he sent out an order. "Aim!"

The marines readied their rifles.

"I..." Zoro's mind raced as he stared down the barrel of the rifle. "Can't die in a place like this!"

The pirate hunter once again thought back on the girl with short blue hair, swinging her shinai bamboo sword... The sakura blossom petals drifting by as she sat on the stone steps... "You're weak as usual, Zoro."

- - - - - - - - - -

Luffy securely tied the three swords to his back and grabbed the windowsill. Lona grinned. "Assume launch position!" she declared, hopping onto Luffy's head in cat form.

"Gomu Gomu noooo..." Luffy walked backwards, his arms stretching out as he maintained his hold on the windowsill. "Rocket!!"

"Fire!" Captain Morgan ordered outside.

But Luffy crashed through the nearby window, soaring through the air. Just as the guns were fired and the bullets heading for Zoro and Coby, Luffy landed directly in front of them, spreading his arms out to take the barrage. Lona took shelter on his back.

"You!" Zoro yelled.

"Luffy-san!" screamed Coby.

But the bullets went right into Luffy and kept going, his skin being pushed back like rubber.

"No way..." the marines uttered in awe.

Luffy just grinned in defiance.

"It won't work!" he shouted, the bullets rebounding off of him and flying every which way. One flew right past Captain Morgan's head.

Luffy stood there, his arms outstretched and laughing like a fun-loving little boy.

"I told you so, I'm strong!" he declared.

Zoro stared with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open. "You... What the hell are you?!" he stammered.

Luffy turned to give a sideways glance at Zoro. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy."

Lone jumped down off Luffy's back, shifting to her hybrid form, further startling Zoro upon seeing the strange human-looking thing covered in pink fur.

"And I'm Lona D. Koshka."

Luffy turned the rest of the way around and gave a thumbs up, which Lona mimicked.

"I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"

End Chapter 2

- - - - - - - - - -

I have an announcement. Due to a computer error, all of my email was deleted. Due to this, I lost all of the emails sent in regards to being my beta-reader. If you previously applied, please send another email to

Cyberweasel89 at yahoo dot com

Even if I responded to you, I can't contact you again unless you re-apply. But it's different this time. To re-apply, just read through this chapter and beta it. Send the beta'd version to me. I'll choose a beta-reader(s) based on who did well. M'kay?


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